Celebrated actor Gene Hackman and his classical pianist wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead Wednesday afternoon in their home northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said just after midnight Thursday that Hackman, 95, Arakawa, 64, and their dog were dead, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. He said there was no immediate indication of foul play, but a medical examiner has not released a cause of death.
The sheriff’s office said a neighbor, concerned about the couple, called for a welfare check Wednesday afternoon, KOB reported.
Hackman was nominated for Oscars five times and won twice, for “The French Connection” in 1972 and “Unforgiven” in 1992. He appeared in dozens of movies in his long career, from the 1960s until his retirement in 2004, winning two BAFTAs and four Golden Globes. He played such iconic roles as Lex Luthor in “Superman” and “Superman II” and Buck Barrow in “Bonnie and Clyde,” and appeared in such films as “Hoosiers,” “Reds,” and “Scarecrow.”
Hackman had three children with his first wife, Faye Maltese, whom he divorced in 1986 after 30 years of marriage. He married Arakawa in 1991, and they moved to a mountaintop outside Sante Fe.
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[Featured image: FILE – Actor Gene Hackman arrives with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, for the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2003. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)]
